Drinking water additive for birds and method of administering the same

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a poultry drinking water additive containing live bacteria of the genus Bacillus and monosaccharides, which can alleviate body weight loss of poultry for meat production after feed withdrawal before slaughter, and which can reduce harmful bacteria such as of the genus Salmonella in the intestine of poultry for meat production and layers during the period of fasting by feed withdrawal. Also disclosed are a method for orally administering the poultry drinking water additive to poultry, a method for alleviating body weight loss of poultry for meat production using this method, and a method for reducing harmful bacteria in the intestine of poultry for meat production or layers.

FIELD OF ART

The present invention relates to a poultry drinking water additive whichis effective in alleviating body weight loss of poultry, in particularpoultry for meat production, after feed withdrawal before slaughter ofthe poultry, and which is effective in reducing harmful bacteria, suchas of the genus Salmonella, in the intestine of poultry. The presentinvention also relates to a method for administering such an additive topoultry, a method for alleviating body weight loss of poultry for meatproduction, as well as a method for reducing harmful bacteria in theintestine of poultry for meat production or layers.

BACKGROUND ART

It is known that live bacteria of the genus Bacillus have effects ofimproving physical condition of poultry (JP-B-61-59092) and suppressingpathogenic bacteria (JP-A-9-163937). In particular, it is already knownthat Bacillus subtilis C-3102 (FERM BP-1096) is useful for promotingweight gain of poultry (JP-B-3-79988) and for reducing bacteria of thegenus Salmonella in the intestine of poultry (Japanese Patent No.2528055).

However, it is merely known that live bacteria of the genus Bacillusexhibit such effect when the bacteria are mixed in with powdered feed.It is not known to add the live bacteria to drinking water, much less toadminister the live bacteria to poultry for meat production after feedwithdrawal before slaughter.

It is also known that declining in body weight gain of poultry for meatproduction because of decreased feed intake due to heat stress may beprevented by administering to the poultry drinking water containing 1 to10 weight % monosaccharides and optionally 0.1 to 1.0 weight % sodiumbicarbonate (JP-A-8-214790).

When the slaughter of poultry for meat production results incontamination of the carcass with the contents of the intestine,bacteria constituting the intestinal flora of poultry may stick to themeat portion and grow during distribution, some of which may cause foodpoisoning. It is thus desirable to start suppressing growth of suchharmful intestinal bacteria, including bacteria of the genus Salmonella,at as low level as possible while poultry are still alive. For thispurpose, feed having the effect of suppressing harmful intestinalbacteria is sometimes given to poultry. On the other hand, in order toprevent contamination of poultry meat with intestinal contents uponslaughter, poultry are made to fast for about one day before slaughterby withdrawing feed (“feed withdrawal”) for minimizing the amount ofintestinal contents of the poultry before slaughter. However, the feedwithdrawal before slaughter results in body weight loss and thus inreduction of productivity. Further, poultry for meat production eattheir own feces when they are starved, which, in combination with thefasting stress, causes alteration in the balance of intestinal flora. Asa result, harmful intestinal bacteria such as of the genus Salmonellatend to increase rapidly.

The “feed withdrawal” is also applied to layers. For example, forremedying decrease in the number of eggs to be laid by layers, thelayers are made to fast for about one week by withdrawing feed and givenonly drinking water during that period to cause the layers to lay moreeggs. In such period, the layers molt their feathers. Accordingly, thisis called a forced molting period. In the forced molting period, likepoultry for meat production, layers also eat their own feces since theyare starved, which, in combination with the fasting stress, causesalteration in the balance of intestinal flora. As a result, harmfulintestinal bacteria such as of the genus Salmonella tend to increaserapidly, causing contamination of produced eggs with the harmfulbacteria.

Consequently, it is demanded to develop a method for preventing growthof harmful intestinal bacteria in poultry while the body weight loss ofthe poultry after feed withdrawal before slaughter is alleviated andintestinal contents are minimized, and a method for preventing growth ofharmful intestinal bacteria in layers during the forced molting period.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a poultry drinkingwater additive and a method for administering such additive which canalleviate body weight loss of poultry for meat production after feedwithdrawal before slaughter, and which can reduce harmful bacteria, suchas bacteria of the genus Salmonella, in the intestine of poultry formeat production and layers during the feed withdrawal period.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method foralleviating body weight loss of poultry for meat production whichrealizes effective alleviation of body weight loss of poultry for meatproduction after feed withdrawal before slaughter.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method forreducing harmful bacteria in the intestine of poultry for meatproduction which realizes effective reduction of harmful bacteria suchas bacteria of the genus Salmonella, in the intestine of poultry formeat production after feed withdrawal before slaughter.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method forreducing harmful bacteria in the intestine of layers which realizeseffective reduction of harmful bacteria, such as bacteria of the genusSalmonella, in the intestine of layers during the forced molting period.

According to the present invention, there is provided a poultry drinkingwater additive comprising live bacteria of the genus Bacillus andmonosaccharides.

According to the present invention, there is provided use of a poultrydrinking water additive comprising live bacteria of the genus Bacillusand monosaccharides for preparing a poultry drinking water mixture.

According to the present invention, there is provided a method foradministering the poultry drinking water additive mentioned abovecomprising orally administering to poultry a poultry drinking watermixture prepared by dissolving and suspending the poultry drinking wateradditive in poultry drinking water.

According to the present invention, there is provided a method foralleviating body weight loss of poultry for meat production comprisingorally administering to poultry for meat production an effective amountof a poultry drinking water mixture for at least one day immediatelypreceding slaughter, said effective amount being effective foralleviating body weight loss of the poultry after feed withdrawal beforeslaughter, said poultry drinking water mixture having been prepared bydissolving and suspending in poultry drinking water the poultry drinkingwater additive.

According to the present invention, there is also provided a method forreducing harmful bacteria in intestine of poultry for meat productioncomprising orally administering to poultry for meat production aneffective amount of a poultry drinking water mixture for at least oneday immediately preceding slaughter, said effective amount beingeffective for reducing harmful bacteria in intestine of the poultryafter feed withdrawal before slaughter, said poultry drinking watermixture having been prepared by dissolving and suspending in poultrydrinking water the poultry drinking water additive.

According to the present invention, there is further provided a methodfor reducing harmful bacteria in intestine of a layer comprising orallyadministering to a layer an effective amount of a poultry drinking watermixture for at least one day during forced molting period of the layer,said effective amount being effective for reducing harmful bacteria inintestine of the layer during forced molting period, said poultrydrinking water mixture having been prepared by dissolving and suspendingin poultry drinking water the poultry drinking water additive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a graph showing the results of the tests conducted in Example2 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The poultry drinking water additive of the present invention containslive bacteria of the genus Bacillus and monosaccharides as activeingredients, and is dissolved and suspended in poultry drinking waterbefore use and administered orally to poultry in the form of a poultrydrinking water mixture. The additive is particularly effective foralleviating body weight loss of poultry for meat production after feedwithdrawal before slaughter, and for reducing or suppressing growth ofharmful bacteria in the intestine of poultry for meat production afterfeed withdrawal before slaughter, or of layers during the forced moltingperiod.

The live bacteria of the genus Bacillus include live bacteria of strainshaving confirmed safety such as those of human food grade or thosecollected from healthy livestock or poultry. For example, Bacillussubtilis, Bacillus coagulans, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus pumilus,or Bacillus lentus may be used. Among these, Bacillus subtilis C-3102(deposited in Fermentation Research Institute, Agency of IndustrialScience and Technology, Japan, under No. 1096)(FERM BP-1096, depositedJun. 28, 1986) is particularly preferred for its excellent capability ofincreasing body weight of poultry and of suppressing growth of harmfulintestinal bacteria. Bacillus subtilis C-3102 has already been used as aprobiotic for feedstuffs, and its safety has been confirmed. Further,when Bacillus subtilis used for producing sticky fermented soybeans(natto) is used, sticky property of the fermented product due topolyglutamic acid and fructan should be taken into account since thisproperty affects the operation efficiency in the production process.Although bacteria of the genus Bacillus also include bacteria specieswhich will cause food poisoning, such as pathogenic Bacillus cereus,such food poisoning bacteria species are excluded from the scope of thepresent invention since they do not fulfill the objects of the presentinvention. Accordingly, it is important to select bacteria species thatwill not cause food poisoning.

The live bacteria of the genus Bacillus may be cultured in solid orliquid medium containing a carbon source, a nitrogen source, inorganicsubstances, vitamins, amino acids and the like, which are commonly usedfor culturing microorganisms. The carbon source is not particularlylimited as long as it is a carbon compound which can be assimilated bythe culturing bacteria, and may be glucose, sucrose, starch, ormolasses. The nitrogen source may be, for example, peptone, meatextract, hydrolysate of casein, or ammonium sulfate. Optionally, saltssuch as phosphates, magnesium, sodium, potassium, iron, or manganese;vitamins; amino acids; a deforming agent; or a surface active agent maybe added to the medium.

The bacteria are preferably cultured under aerobic conditions with theinitial pH of the medium being preferably 5 to 9, more preferably 6 to8, at preferably 20 to 50° C., more preferably 30 to 45° C. for 12 hoursto 7 days.

Any of the culture per se containing the cultured live bacteria of thegenus Bacillus, condensate thereof, and the bacteria isolated from theculture, may be used as the active ingredient of the additive. Theactive ingredient preferably contains 10⁶ to 10¹¹ cells of livebacteria, i.e., spores and/or vegetative cells, per gram of the activeingredient. The live bacteria of the genus Bacillus per se as the activeingredient, or optionally mixed with a carrier, may be dried orformulated, and then mixed with the monosaccharides to be discussedlater, thereby facilitating storage and transportation. Alternatively,the live bacteria of the genus Bacillus may be mixed withmonosaccharides before they are mixed with a carrier and formulated. Thecarrier is not particularly limited, but is preferably water soluble.Preferred examples of the carrier may include dextrin, succrose,lactose, and galactose. When monosaccharides are selected as thecarrier, they also function as the active ingredient.

The other active ingredient of the poultry drinking water additive ofthe present invention, monosaccharides, in combination with the livebacteria of the genus Bacillus, exhibits the effects of alleviating bodyweight loss of poultry, as well as increasing blood glucose level ofpoultry to mitigate their hunger, thereby restraining or preventingpoultry from eating their own feces to eliminate the cause of growth ofharmful intestinal bacteria. Examples of the monosaccharides may includeglucose, fructose, galactose, and xylose.

In the poultry drinking water additive of the present invention, thelive bacteria of the genus Bacillus and monosaccharides may be in theform of a dried blend at a particular ratio, or a formulation preparedby a mixture of live bacteria of the genus Bacillus and monosaccharidesat a particular ratio. Alternatively, the formulation of the livebacteria and the formulation of monosaccharides may be packedseparately, and dissolved and suspended in drinking water at aparticular ratio before use. This particular ratio of the live bacteriaand the monosaccharides dissolved and suspended in poultry drinkingwater is preferably such that the number of live bacteria of the genusBacillus is preferably 10⁴ to 10⁸ cells, more preferably about 10⁵ to10⁸ cells per milliliter of the drinking water, and the concentration ofthe monosaccharides is preferably 1 to 10 weight % of the total weightof the drinking water and the monosaccharides together. If the number oflive bacteria is less than 10⁴cells/ml, desired effect may not beachieved sufficiently, whereas even if the number of live bacteriaexceeds 10⁸ cells/ml, no further improvement in the effect cannot beexpected, thus not being economical and preferable. If the concentrationof the monosaccharides is less than 1 weight %, the effects ofalleviating body weight loss and increasing glucose level may not besufficiently exhibited, whereas if the concentration exceeds 10 weight%, the viscosity of the drinking water is increased, which may causepoultry to uptake decreased amount of the drinking water. Further, whenthe live bacteria and the monosaccharides are blended in advance, or theformulation is prepared from the mixture of the live bacteria and themonosaccharides before they are dissolved and suspended in poultrydrinking water, the mixing ratio of the two components is notparticularly limited, but preferably 10⁶ to 10¹⁰ cells of live bacteriaof the genus Bacillus are mixed with 1 to 10 g of the monosaccharides.

The poultry drinking water additive of the present invention may be usedby dissolving and suspending the additive in poultry drinking water toprepare a poultry drinking water mixture of preferred concentration, andorally administering the drinking water mixture to poultry. Further, forexample, an appropriate amount of vitamins, minerals, amino acids,flavoring agents, souring agents, sodium bicarbonate, emulsifiers,stabilizers, or surface active agents may optionally be added to thepoultry drinking water mixture. Preferable timing for administering thispoultry drinking water mixture is to be described later, but is notnecessarily limited thereto.

The method of administering the additive, the method for alleviatingbody weight loss of poultry for meat production, the method for reducingharmful intestinal bacteria in poultry for meat production, and themethod for reducing harmful intestinal bacteria in layers of the presentinvention are all characterized by orally administering to poultry adrinking water mixture prepared by dissolving and suspending theadditive in poultry drinking water. In particular, to poultry for meatproduction, an effective amount of the additive is orally administered,i.e. administered in drinking water, for at least one day immediatelypreceding slaughter, whereas to layers, an effective amount of theadditive is orally administered, i.e., administered in drinking water,for at least one day during the forced molting period.

The oral administration to poultry may be effected, for example, bycontinuous administration or intermittent administrations during thepredetermined administration period of the poultry drinking watermixture prepared by dissolving and suspending the poultry drinking wateradditive of the present invention in poultry drinking water at aparticular mixing ratio. The number of live bacteria of the genusBacillus in the poultry drinking water mixture is preferably 10⁴ to 10⁸cells/ml, more preferably about 10⁵ to 10⁸ cells/ml, and theconcentration of the monosaccharides is preferably 1 to 10 weight % ofthe total weight of the poultry drinking water and the monosaccharidestogether. The administration for at least one day immediately precedingthe slaughter may be sufficient for poultry for meat production, butusually daily administration for two to seven consecutive daysimmediately preceding the slaughter may be effective. For example, theadministration after the feed withdrawal may be sufficient, butadditional administration before the feed withdrawal may provideenhanced increase in body weight and preliminary balancing of theintestinal flora, thus being preferred. It is preferable and the mosteconomical to start daily administration of effective dose one to twodays before the feed withdrawal, and continue the daily administrationof effective dose even after the feed withdrawal. In the case of layers,administration of effective dose for at least one day during the forcedmolting period may be sufficient, but additional administration beforeor after the forced molting period may also be effective. Daily andcontinuous administration of effective dose for a particular period ofor the entire period of the forced molting period is preferred.

The effective dose may suitably be decided, but usually a daily dose of200 to 500 ml of the poultry drinking water mixture per bird per day maybe appropriate before and after the feed withdrawal for alleviating bodyweight loss and reducing harmful intestinal bacteria.

The poultry drinking water additive of the present invention containsthe live bacteria of the genus Bacillus and the monosaccharides.Therefore, by orally administering to poultry for meat production aneffective amount of the additive for at least one day immediatelypreceding the slaughter of the poultry, the body weight loss of thepoultry may be alleviated, harmful intestinal bacteria in the poultryare reduced, and contamination of meat portion with food poisoningbacteria such as of the genus Salmonella upon slaughter is prevented.Further, by orally administering to layers an effective amount of theadditive for at least one day during the forced molting period of thelayers, harmful intestinal bacteria in the poultry are reduced, andadverse effect of the harmful bacteria on eggs to be deposited isreduced or eliminated.

EXAMPLES

The present invention will now be explained in more detail withreference to Examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

Example 1

Male broilers at 48 days of age were divided into three groups of 10broilers each of similar weight.

Poultry drinking water mixture A was prepared by mixing the poultrydrinking water additive in poultry drinking water so that the mixture Acontained 4 weight % glucose and 6×10⁵ CFU/ml of Bacillus subtilisC-3102.

The first group of male broilers of similar weight were fed with normalsolid feed (marketed by ITOCHU FEED MILLS CO., LTD., trade name “BROACEF”) and allowed free and continuous access to the poultry drinking watermixture A for the first two days of the test. On the subsequent day,feeding with the normal solid feed was withdrawn, and only the drinkingwater mixture A was continuously given for the day. Body weight gain inthe first two days of the test (body weight gain before feedwithdrawal), body weight loss in the day of feed withdrawal (body weightloss after feed withdrawal), and body weight gain after three daytesting period (body weight gain during the testing period) weremeasured. The results are shown in FIG. 1 as the average value for thebroilers.

Comparative Examples 1 and 2

Each of the second and third groups of the male broilers of the similarweight divided in Example 1 were placed under the same testingconditions as in Example 1 except that the drinking water mixture A wasreplaced with water (Comparative Example 1) or poultry drinking watermixture B containing 4 weight % glucose (Comparative Example 2),respectively, and the change in the body weight of the broilers wasmeasured. The results are shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 shows that the body weight gain in the two days before the feedwithdrawal and the body weight gain after the three day testing periodwere both largest with the group given the drinking water mixture A(Example 1), then with the group given the drinking water mixture B(Comparative Example 2), and the smallest with the group given water(Comparative Example 1). Therefore, the group received the drinkingwater mixture A or B were larger in body weight gain while fed with thesolid feed, and smaller in body weight loss after the withdrawal of thesolid feed, than the group given water. Further, the body weight gain ofthe group given the drinking water mixture A was larger, while fed withthe normal feed, than the body weight gain of the group given thedrinking water mixture B, which indicated that the former group provideshigher ultimate productivity.

Example 2 and Comparative Example 3

A field experiment was conducted on broilers at 54 days of age. First,30 samples of fecal droppings were collected from each poultry house topreliminarily confirm that no remarkable difference in the amount ofSalmonella bacteria was detected among the poultry houses prior to theexperiment. The broilers were allowed free access to both solid feed(marketed by ITOCHU FEED MILLS CO., LTD., trade name “BROACE F”) and thedrinking water mixture A prepared in Example 1 (Example 2) or water(Comparative Example 3) on the first day of the experiment. On thesecond day, the feeding with the solid feed was withdrawn, and only thedrinking water mixture A (Example 2) or water (Comparative Example 3)was given to the broilers for the whole day (feed withdrawal period),and the broilers were slaughtered on the third day. After the slaughter,30 samples of cecal contents were collected from each broiler in theslaughterhouse, and tested for Salmonella bacteria. The results areshown in Table 1.

It is seen from the results in Table 1 that the number of subjects inwhich Salmonella was detected and the number of bacteria detected in thesubjects were significantly lower with the group given the drinkingwater mixture A (Example 2) than the group given water (ComparativeExample 3) with the significance level of 5 %. It is understood fromExample 2 that the number of subjects in which Salmonella was detectedand the number of bacteria detected in the subjects could besignificantly reduced under the practical conditions of commercialbroiler farms by administering to the poultry a combination of the livebacteria of the genus Bacillus, which suppress disturbance in theintestinal flora, and the monosaccharides, which raise the blood glucoselevel of the broilers and suppress coprophagy.

TABLE 1 Number of Subjects in Which Salmonella Was Number of BacteriaDetected Detected (log₁₀) Example 2  7/30* 3.98 ± 0.40* ComparativeExample 1 16/30 4 55 ± 0.66 *P < 0.05

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for alleviating body weight loss ofpoultry for meat production after feed withdrawal comprising: orallyadministering to poultry for meat production an effective amount of apoultry drinking water mixture after withdrawal of solid feed for atleast one day immediately preceding slaughter, said effective amountbeing effective for alleviating body weight loss of the poultry afterfeed withdrawal before slaughter, said poultry drinking water mixturehaving been prepared by dissolving and suspending in poultry drinkingwater a poultry drinking water additive comprising live bacteria of thegenus Bacillus and monosaccharides.
 2. The method of claim 1 whereinsaid poultry drinking water mixture is orally administered, after saidwithdrawal of solid feed, daily to the poultry for meat production fortwo to seven successive days immediately preceding slaughter in anamount effective for alleviating body weight loss of the poultry afterfeed withdrawal before slaughter.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein saidlive bacteria of the genus Bacillus are live bacteria of the speciesBacillus subtilis.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein said live bacteriaof the species Bacillus subtilis are live bacteria of the strainBacillus subtilis C-3102 (FERM BP-1096).
 5. A method for reducingharmful bacteria in intestine of poultry for meat production after feedwithdrawal comprising: orally administering to poultry for meatproduction an effective amount of a poultry drinking water mixture afterwithdrawal of solid feed for at least one day immediately precedingslaughter, said effective amount being effective for reducing harmfulbacteria in intestine of the poultry after feed withdrawal beforeslaughter, said poultry drinking water mixture having been prepared bydissolving and suspending in poultry drinking water a poultry drinkingwater additive comprising live bacteria of the genus Bacillus andmonosaccharides.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein said poultry drinkingwater mixture is orally administered, after said withdrawal of solidfeed, daily to the poultry for meat production for two to sevensuccessive days immediately preceding slaughter in an amount effectivefor reducing harmful bacteria in intestine of the poultry after feedwithdrawal before slaughter.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein said livebacteria of the genus Bacilllus are live bacteria of the speciesBacillus subtilis.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein said live bacteriaof the species Bacillus subtilis are live bacteria of the strainBacillus subtilis C-3102 (FERM BP-1096).
 9. A method for reducingharmful bacteria in intestine of a layer during forced molting periodcomprising: orally administering to a layer an effective amount of apoultry drinking water mixture for at least one day during forcedmolting period of the layer after withdrawal of solid feed, saideffective amount being effective for reducing harmful bacteria inintestine of the layer during forced molting period, said poultrydrinking water mixture having been prepared by dissolving and suspendingin poultry drinking water a poultry drinking water additive comprisinglive bacteria of the genus Bacillus and monosaccharides.
 10. The methodof claim 9, wherein said live bacteria of the genus Bacililus are livebacteria of the species Bacillus subtilis.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein said live bacteria of the species Bacillus subtilis are livebacteria of the strain Bacillus subtilis C-3102 (FERM BP-1096).